Monday, 30 June 2014

The Cybermen are to return in the new series of Doctor Who, the BBC revealed today.

Following the announcement earlier in the day of the casting of Michelle Gomez as the Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere, the show's official Twitter account subsequently tweeted a behind-the-scenes picture showing Gomez with Peter Capaldi in Cardiff and Cybermen behind them.

The BBC has announced that Michelle Gomez will join the cast of Doctor Who, playing the Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere in the new series.

Gomez is best known for her performances in Green Wing, The Book Group, and Bad Education. In 2008 she performed as Kate in Royal Shakespeare Company's production The Taming of the Shrew. Doctor Who fans may know her from her role as Jevvan in the 2007 Big Finish audio Valhalla.

Speaking about the role, Gomez said:

Well of course Peter Capaldi is our next Doctor, which makes complete sense. I'm thrilled to join him. Well, you would be wouldn't you?

Sunday, 29 June 2014

Big Finish Productions have announced they will be bringing back The Rani in a new story by Justin Richards, as part of their ongoing series of Audio adventures based on Doctor Who.

The Rani was originally played by Kate O'Mara in two stories shown in the 1980's, The Mark of the Rani and Time and the Rani. She was created by Pip and Jane Baker as a renegade Time Lord, an amoral scientist who sees no limit to her research.

The return was suggested by O'Mara who told Big Finish she would love to reprise the role for the company. Producer David Richardson says

Her agent contacted me and said that she would love to reprise the role with us, and when I mentioned this to executive producer Nicholas Briggs and script editor Alan Barnes they leapt at the opportunity. Justin wrote The Rani Elite for us, and we were just a few weeks away from recording when the terrible news reached us that Kate had passed away. At first, we were not sure what to do – until Kate’s agent again got in touch again, and said that it had been Kate’s wish that we proceed with a new incarnation of the Rani.

The role will now be played by Siobhan Redmond, whose many leading television credits include Between the Lines, The High Life, The Smoking Room, Taggart and Holby City.

We’d worked with Siobhan a few months ago as a different character in Revenge of the Swarm, and we fell in love with her. She’s a smart, delightful person and also an amazing actress – she’s the perfect choice for this new, slightly different version of the Rani.

The Rani's return comes at the end of a new trilogy of stories exploring what happened to Peri Brown during and after The Trial of a Time Lord. In the 1986 story Mindwarp, Peri was killed, but later in The Ultimate Foe it was explained that she actually married to the warrior Yrcanos.

So what really happened?

The mystery is addressed in an set of adventures starring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri. It begins in October with The Widow's Assassin by Nev Fountain, which takes up Peri's story a few years after trial, as the Doctor and his former companion are reunited.

November's release is Masters of Earth by Mark Wright and Cavan Scott, which, as the title hints, features the return of the Daleks and the Robomen, and is set during the Dalek occupation of Earth in the 22nd Century.

The trilogy ends in December with The Rani Elite, which sees the debut of Siobhan Redmond as the evil Time Lord.

The three stories are available to pre-order individually or as part of the discounted subscription deal.

Tenth Planet Events are holding a special event and auction to raise money for Denville Hall, a home for elderly members of the theatrical profession.

Items in the auction range from several signed Big Finish scripts and Doctor Who posters through to a a private dinner for ten with Lalla Ward and her husband Richard Dawkins, and the chance to spend a day with Big Finish.

The Auction is now available online until midnight (BST) on August 8th 2014.

Friday, 27 June 2014

No time has yet been confirmed for the BBC One Transmission, however BBC America have confirmed they will show the episode at 8pm ET. SPACE in Canada have also confirmed it will show the episode that evening as has FOX in Germany.

ABC Australia have confirmed the series will début downunder on Sunday 24th August.

Am I a good man? BBC One trailer, via YouTube
Am I a good man? BBC America trailer, via YouTube (North America only)

Issue Seventeen of the Fanzine Inferno Fiction is now available online.

In this issue

The Fear Of All Sums
by Samuel Marks
Part 3: The Doctor is reunited with The Cavalier. A Zeronaught is exposed and the Kuricam catch up with their prey...

Old Iron
by Michael Baxter
Dr Who and his granddaughter Susan arrive at 76 Totters Lane, Shoreditch where the premises and its contents of the late Isaac Foreman are being checked out by two unsavoury rag and bone men...

The Rallax Operation
by Al Dickerson
Part 2: Spoilers are Avoided. A Number of Corridors are traversed. Oneness with the Universe is Achieved. An Unbearable Occurrence occurs. Unstoffe remembers Moe. A Trilling Sound bothers the Bobs. There is a Hook, a Line and a Stinker. A retirement is deferred.

Veil Of The Rani
by Ryan Denyer
Part 1: Arriving on Xtrina2, the Doctor encounters the mysterious Lucinda Black and an old, dying enemy, the Rani.

Oh My Giddy Aunt!
by Sean Bassett
Act I: Madame Kovarian presides over a musical extravaganza for members of the Church of the Silence, featuring the life story of the Doctor from his first incarnation to his fifth in Act I

In Her Absence
by Julie Kay
Part 1: This is the epic, beautiful and exciting tale of the early days of the Silurian warrior Madame Vastra. Ranging from her early travels with the Doctor to her adventures in the alleys of Victorian London, this is Vastra's story.

Threat Of The Cybermen
by Nathan Mullins
Part 1: The Doctor and Clara must stop the threat of the Cyberme...an army of Cyber kings...

"It's crazy, how everyone knows where we're going to be filming," says Neve. "When we were doing Peter Capaldi's first one we went out nice and early in the morning and there was one person there. And then you turned around and suddenly there was a whole load of people."

"Peter himself wasn't there, of course," adds Dan, "cos his first actual filming was in the studio that afternoon, which was really exciting."

Wednesday, 25 June 2014

Billie Piper is to star at the National Theatre in London in a new play about press intrusion and phone hacking.

The play Great Britain, written by Richard Bean and directed by Nicholas Hytner, opens on 30th June, with Piper playing the ambitious young news editor of a tabloid newspaper. The opening was delayed on legal advice due to an ongoing court case which has now been concluded. It will run on London's South Bank until 23rd August.

Selfie will debut in the US on ABC later this year on Tuesdays at 8pm. ITV have released a trailer for the new series Chasing Shadows, which stars Alex Kingston and Noel Clarke.

Kingston playes Ruth Hattersley in the drama, who is described as "maternal, but not mumsy", while Clarke plays DI Prior. The show also stars Reece Shearsmith, who played Patrick Troughton in An Adventure In Space And Time.

The Doctor's farewell to Rose in Doomsday has been voted the greatest moment in sci-fi, horror and fantasy by readers of the magazine SFX, it was revealed today.

To mark the publication of issue 250 of the monthly magazine, readers were asked to vote for a definitive list of the 250 greatest moments of sci-fi, horror and fantasy in genres covering cinema, television, books, comics and video games. A total of 96,300 votes was cast and Doctor Who came top with that emotional scene set in Bad Wolf Bay. Originally broadcast on 8th July 2006, the concluding part of the two-episode story that ended Series Two was written by Russell T Davies - who was the showrunner at the time - and directed by Graeme Harper.

In a statement, SFX said:

Revisionists would have you believe that Who was always a show with emotional impact, but barring a couple of companion departures, that didn't really become true until the advent of Russell T Davies.

His most heart-destroyingly tragic contribution was this scene, in which a holographic projection of the Doctor talks to a tearful Rose on a Norwegian beach, with the signal cutting out just before the slowcoach can declare, "I love you". It's a moment everyone can identify with because, as Davies put it, "There's an echo of every loss you've ever had."

We've all had to bid farewell to someone we care about - even if it wasn't forced upon us by the threat of universal destruction - and this eye-moistening moment perfectly encapsulates the agony of break-up.

I remember worrying on the day we shot this scene that as I was actually a projection from inside the Tardis my hair shouldn't be blowing in the wind.

That seemed terribly important at the time, and although we didn't find a solution to it, it bothered me for weeks. Then I saw the finished scene and of course all that matters is the end of the Doctor and Rose's story. Russell had weaved some glorious magic for two seasons and it all came together so perfectly in this scene that people still talk to me about it with misty eyes all these years later (and I suspect they always will.)

Murray Gold created some heart-stopping music that accentuates the misery and Billie [Piper] is just breathtakingly good. I feel very lucky to be standing on that beach, with my hair flying around, in amongst all these brilliant elements. Whatever else I do and wherever else I end up, this will be a moment I will be forever proud to look back on. Thanks for having us at number one.

SFX recruited some of the biggest names in the world of sci-fi to share their favourite moments, with Buffy The Vampire Slayer star Anthony Head among those agreeing that John Hurt's chest-burst scene in the 1979 film Alien was their greatest.

He said:

The first thing that comes to mind is Alien, the great exploding John Hurt moment! You didn't hear until afterwards how they filmed it, and it was one of those moments of reality really hitting a group of actors. You believed it. So full on. It was a perfectly-formed science fiction film, and it's always stuck with me. I was very scared.

The Top 10 greatest moments in sci-fi, horror and fantasy as voted for by SFX readers are as follows:

1: Doctor Who - The Doctor and Rose say farewell at Bad Wolf Bay in Doomsday

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

BBC Worldwide North America and Titan Comics have revealed the first cover art and creator details for the new ongoing comic series starring the Twelfth Doctor, which hits comic stores on October 1, 2014.

Eagle award-winning writer Robbie Morrison (Drowntown, The Authority, 2000AD, Nikolai Dante) and New York Times-bestselling artist Dave Taylor (Batman: Death by Design, 2000AD) will be helping spin the new Doctor off to his most challenging destination yet.

As with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor ranges, Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #1 comes with a regular cover painted by Alice X. Zhang, plus five other variants - including a "100% rebel Time Lord" photo cover and Mariano Laclaustra penned picture of Clara.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor is available to pre-order from comic stores and will hit retailers on October 1.

NB: Due to licensing restrictions, fans in the UK and Ireland can only purchase this comic digitally.

As previously reported the new Tenth and Eleventh Doctor ranges will hit comic book stores on July 23, and print or digital editions are available to pre-order now.

Monday, 16 June 2014

In Whose Doctor? Reflections on a Time Lord, a new independently released ebook, nine Australia writers examine their relationship to Doctor Who from all angles. From letters begging to be allowed to write for the show and poems about step-families bonding over mutual love of the Doctor, to examinations of how New Who subverts the male gaze and introductory lectures to aspiring companions, this collection presents a range of unique and personal takes on Britain's favourite and longest-running science fiction TV show.

These writers are poets, comedians, scriptwriters, academics and authors, but above all they are each, in their own way, fans. As someone once said, "There's no wrong way to be a fan of Doctor Who." This collection proves that point beyond a doubt.

The pieces in this collection were originally performed live on stage in Melbourne at the Lithuanian Club on 13 November 2013 as part of the City of Melbourne Library's "Not Quite the Big Finish: An Evening of Doctor Who Spoken Word", a 50th Anniversary celebration of Doctor Who.

Whose Doctor? Reflections of a Time Lord is available now for $US5 as an ebook from SmashWords and Tomely. For more information check out #WhoseDoctor on Twitter.

Saturday, 14 June 2014

John Barrowman, who played Captain Jack and Julie Gardner, Doctor Who's former Executive Producer, have both been made a MBE in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Julie Gardner was a key member of the team responsible for bringing back Doctor Who in 2005 and relaunching the series for a whole new generation. She was brought into the project in 2003 to work with Russell T Davies on developing the show. Together they were responsible for turning Doctor Who into one of the biggest BBC's most succesful shows, responsible for 60 episodes. She was involved in casting two Doctors, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant, and creating two spin-offs, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. She now works in California as Senior vice president Scripted Projects for BBC Worldwide America.

Gardner, who was born in Neath, near Swansea, has been awarded the honour for "services to the Economic Development of the Television Industry in Wales." She said: she was honored to accept the award.

I have filmed all over the world. But the talent, stamina and sheer fun of the writers, cast and crews I’ve worked with in Wales is beyond compare. I am lucky; I get to keep this award. But I am accepting it for all those brilliant people who have made my job such an absolute joy, and for my dad who will be the talk of Glynneath. My proudest achievement has been to successfully bring Doctor Who to Wales. From there, through Torchwood, Casualty and Da Vinci's Demon's, Wales' position in the global television industry goes from strength to strength. I am hugely proud to have been a part of that journey and will work hard so that this is just the beginning.

John Barrowman joined Doctor Who in 2005, playing Captain Jack Harkness in eleven episodes of the series. His success was such that he was given his own spin off series Torchwood, which ran from 2006-2011. The honour was given for his services to entertainment as well as his contribution to charity.

Barrowman, who is currently in Australia , promoting his drama series Arrow, said receiving the award was the proudest day in his life. The actor posted a video expressing his reaction to the news.

The honour makes both a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The award is given by Queen Elizabeth on the advice of the British Government.

Friday, 13 June 2014

The Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff is to be rebranded to bring it up to date with the arrival of the Twelfth Doctor this Autumn.

The exhibition will close its doors for six weeks from the 1st September, for the exhibits to be updated to reflect the new Doctor. The current walk through experience, where you step through a crack in time and help the Eleventh Doctor will be replaced by a brand new sequence starring Peter Capaldi.

The current exhibition opened at its current home, next door to the Doctor Who studios, on 20 July 2012, following a successful run in London

Thursday, 12 June 2014

The Royal Television Society (RTS), is Britain's leading forum for television and related media. Its Scotland awards cover all forms of production in the nation, recognising excellence and innovation across a range of genres and crafts. April Chamberlain, co-founder of Glasgow-based production company, The Comedy Unit, chaired the Awards juries which met for the first time this year. She said:

With 2014 being such a culturally significant year for Scotland, the RTS felt the time was right to launch the RTS Scotland Awards. The aim of these awards is to recognise the extraordinary talent working across the wide range of programmes now being produced in Scotland and also reflect the current broadcasting landscape, breadth of programming, craft and production skills that make up today’s television schedules and beyond.

The RTS Scotland Award, which is given at the discretion of the RTS Scotland Awards committee, was presented to Peter Capaldi, acknowledging his outstanding contribution to television. The citation reads

The RTS Scotland Award is for the outstanding contribution to television in Scotland and beyond. RTS Scotland is delighted to announce that the recipient of this year’s award is Peter Capaldi. An acclaimed writer, performer and director, Peter has achieved phenomenal success at home and abroad. Original, memorable, engaging and definitive – his contribution to television has been exceptional, and the committee feel he is a worthy and much deserved winner of this inaugural award.

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony at the Oran Mor, Glasgow.

The publication also includes articles on TARDIS collectables, a history of the original police boxes by a retired superintendent, maps of the ship’s interior and a three-part guide on how to operate the console.

"The TARDIS is an essential part of Doctor Who, so we had to feature it in this series of bookazines," says editor Marcus Hearn. "We’ve taken a fresh look at one of the show’s most familiar icons, and I’m pleased that we’ve been able to include so much previously unpublished material."

Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Following on from the World Tour announcement yesterday, both BBC America and ABC have reported via their press releases that Doctor Who will air in the United States and Australia respectively in August, with the former confirming that it will broadcast on the same air date (to be announced) as the United Kingdom.

Speaking of the tour, BBC America's SVP for Programming Richard De Croce said:

It’s a new beginning for one of the most popular series in the world and we couldn’t be more excited to have the Twelfth Doctor live in New York to promote the long awaited return of Doctor Who on BBC AMERICA. It’s going to be epic.

ABC's Head of Programming Brendan Dahill said:

ABC TV has always been the Australian home for The Doctor. Our audiences love him and embrace the series which was evident with the success of the recent 50th anniversary celebrations, which broadcast on ABC TV and iview. We look forward to welcoming Peter and Jenna down under.

Amanda Hill, Chief Brands Officer at BBC Worldwide said:

We were so bowled over by the global reaction to the 50th episode last year that we thought what better way to introduce the new Doctor than to take the team around the globe. Doctor Who encompasses British creativity at its best and we’re passionate about it being on the world stage. This tour is something normally reserved for Hollywood blockbusters but with Doctor Who it appears you can do anything you dream of and continue to challenge what’s perceived as the norm in TV.

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are to embark on a World Tour, promoting the upcoming series of Doctor Who, which hits screens this August.

Fans in the UK will have a chance to see the couple at exclusive events in Cardiff and London on 7 August before they jet off, alongside showrunnerSteven Moffat, visiting seven cities across five continents in 12 days to take part in a series of media and fan engagements

Peter Capaldi, speaking ahead of the tour, said:

It’s fantastic that so many people across the world love Doctor Who. After eight months solid filming deep in the world of monsters, Jenna and I are thrilled to be heading for the Planet of Fans.

Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat added:

I've always thought we'd all be a lot safer if the Doctor conquered the world, instead of the Daleks. Now with Jenna and Peter leading the charge, it looks like it's going to happen. I'll be bringing up the rear to handle the exposition scenes, and maybe carry some bags.

The tour marks the largest ever promotional undertaking in Doctor Who’s 50-year history and will take in Seoul (South Korea), Sydney (Australia) before hitting New York (US) on August 14. It continues to Mexico City (Mexico) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) where the tour ends on August 19th.

More details of the itinerary will be available soon at www.doctorwho.tv/worldtour as well as reports from the tour as it happens, which fans everywhere will be able to enjoy across social and digital platforms.

BBC Worldwide’s ambition for the brand has grown considerably since the global success of the 50th Anniversary which saw the special episode The Day Of The Doctor broadcast simultaneously in 98 countries and in over 1500 cinemas across the world, setting a new record for event cinema in its first three days on general release.

Sunday, 8 June 2014

Bonhams' latest entertainment memorabilia sale will once again include items from Doctor Who, with Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures also featuring.

The sale - taking place at the showroom in Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge, London, on Wednesday 25th June from midday - consists of some 367 items, with lots 94 to 121 being of particular interest to DW, TW and SJA fans.

Friday, 6 June 2014

The tours operate every Friday/Saturday/Sunday from Saturday 14th June until Sunday 20th July.

The tour was created by Doctor Who novelist Gary Russell. It lasts roughly an hour and visits over thirty-one locations featured in the filming of the show, including: the building where the Weeping Angels watched Sally Sparrow and the Police Station in the Blink episode; the American diner River Song, Amy and Rory met the Doctor inside within The Impossible Astronaut episode, and the Wales Millennium Centre, where episodes including: The Girl Who Waited, The Sound of Drums, and Vincent and the Doctor were all filmed.

Tickets for the official Doctor Who Walking Tours will be on sale from 12pm on Wednesday 11th June with further dates to be announced in the next couple of weeks.

Tuesday, 3 June 2014

An early audio recording of a TV drama, starring future Doctor Who companion Jacqueline Hill, has been unearthed by the film's director.

The play Requiem for a Heavyweight, is notable for also featuring the first lead performance by the future James Bond, Sean Connery as well as an early performance by Michael Caine.

The play was broadcast on 31 March 1957, performed live on BBC Television as part of the Sunday-Night Theatre series. It was written for US television in 1956 by The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling where it starred Jack Palance in the lead role.

Jacqueline Hill played Grace Carney in the UK version, which was directed by Alvin Rakoff, who would marry Hill the following year. Rakoff said it was his future wife who convinced him to cast Connery in the Palance role, when it was clear the actor wouldn't travel to the UK for the British version of the play.

He told BBC News:

I got a call from Palance's agent who said: Jack ain't gonna show. Something better had come up and he didn't want to come to England. Jacqueline said, Have you seen Sean?... the ladies will like him, which was quite a remarkable statement but it was true, women adored him and so I called him and narrowed it to two fellows and Sean got it.

The play was thought to have been lost until Rakoff remembered a recording he had asked the sound booth to make during transmission:

I had suddenly thought: 'Maybe this is an important piece,' and I spoke to the man in the sound booth and asked him to do a reel-to-reel so he had an audio recording, and he did.

After a search Rakoff recently found the recording in the attic of his London home.

Jacqueline Hill and Alvin Rakoff were married for 36 years, until her death in 1993. Rakoff, now in his 80's, is still working and has just written the conspiracy thriller The Seven Einsteins.

FOX Germany have announced their intention to broadcast the next series of Doctor Who at the same time as or as near as possible to its transmission in the United Kingdom - making it the first station in the world to present a series alongside its traditional "home"!

The episodes, which will be available to watch in both a German-dubbed version or the original English soundtrack, will be aired as close to the actual transmission on BBC One as is practical - the UK schedules can vary from week to week depending upon other programming and events, whereas German schedules are less 'fluid' - as the press release cites, should the series air at 8:00pm in the UK then it would air at 9:00pm in Germany.

We, together with the BBC, are proud to write TV history and broadcast the cult tv show DOCTOR WHO for the first time as a global premiere in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – in German and English. DOCTOR WHO-fans are as passionate as THE WALKING DEAD-fans, who are in pain every day they have to wait for the new episodes. We are very happy to reduce the waiting time to zero.

The actual premiere date and time in August has yet to be confirmed.

Back in November, the channel narrowly missed being part of the global simulcast of The Day of the Doctor, broadcasting the episode some ten minutes later at 9:00pm local time. Similarly, The Time of the Doctor was broadcast about an hour later in Germany, though FOX were the first to show the festive episode after the UK.

Doctor Who is a daily fixture on FOX, with this week seeing the run reach Series 4.

Sunday, 1 June 2014

The "alternative" 50th Anniversary special for Doctor Who, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, is to receive an official release on DVD, its co-star Colin Baker revealed at the DWAS convention Myth Makers this afternoon. The actor reported that it would appear on an as-yet unscheduled special set featuring former Doctor Matt Smith.

No other details of what the overall set will comprise are available at present, though it is likely to be released both on DVD and Blu-ray format later this year.

The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot tells the tale of the attempts of 'classic' Doctors Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Peter Davison (who also wrote and directed the piece) to appear in the 50th Anniversary adventure, and their various encounters and mishaps along the way!